Tuesday! 

Tuesdays Agenda:

1. Finish Our "Get To Know Your Country" Handout

2. "Writing a Resolution"

3. Moderated Debate as Our Countries

Writing a Resolution:

The UN primarily writes resolutions which, in turn, act as the combined voice of the nations involved in the UN.

Resolutions have two clauses, a perambulatory clause, and an operative clause.

A perambulatory clause is one that starts with a verb that "recognizes something." An operative clause is one that starts with a verb that "recommends an action."

Example of a Preabulatory clause: Desiring schwarma after the battle.

Example of a Operative Clause:  Encourages that all in attendance, including Thor, The Hulk, Black Widow, Hawk Eye, Captain America, go to the schwarma place pointed out before closing the portal. 

Why does it sound funny? Because the subject is missing! In a resolution, the subject is the delegates of the UN, in this example, it is Tony Stark, aka Iron Man!

After I pass out a list of verbs for these clauses, we are going to try to write some for ourselves on the following topics! 

• Aliens have landed and want to negotiate peace. You want them to land in your country. 
• Russia has sent Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles to be placed in Cuba. You are writing a resolution saying that they cant. 
• The UN has decided to place a worldwide ban on (insert whatever here, so long as it is friendly).

After we write our resolutions, we will each put one up on the board! 

Moderated Debate As Our Countries:

We are going to start of by debating with just a few of the rules that the UN uses. We will most likely start with the simplest rules of:

• Having an allotted speaking time.
• Having an allotted speaking order
• Having a moderated or un-moderated caucus
• Having a vote at the end to determine the course of action

Hugo will definitely help with the rules since he has lots of experience with the Model UN! 

Monday Week Two!

     Welcome to Nueva Summer's Model United Nations blog for 2014! In this camp we will be learning how to debate, we will practice our public speaking skills, and we will learn the basic functions of the United Nations! 

Monday's Agenda: 

Since there may be a lot of new campers in the class, we will reprise our "Interview Introduction" activity. However, if there are a lot of us who were here in week one, we will do the "Continuous Story Activity" 

1. Interview Introduction
2.  -or- the "Continuous Story"
3.  Break
4. Assigning Countries
5. "Getting to Know Your Nation"

Interview Introduction: 

For this activity we will be interviewing each other, and then presenting on what we have found. We will split up into groups and ask each other questions. For a list of questions, use the "search" option on the blog to find the last interview introduction prompt. You must have a minimum of 10 questions to answer about your interviewee. After the interview process, we will present our findings to the class! 

Continuous Story: 

Monday Activities:

Interview Introduction (only if there is a lot of campers who have not been in the camp before).

                -or-

Continuous Story

·         The Story starts with the sentence:

o   There once was a brave young person, who went on an adventure to….

·         Then in the middle of the story this sentence must occur:

o   But suddenly, everything changed, and the person they thought they could trust betrayed them…

·         Lastly, it has to end with

o   Finally, the long journey came to a close

·         Then the campers take turns adding to the story and keeping it going until the last student says the last sentence .

·         The students must tell the story for a minimum of 30 seconds and a maximum of a minute and 30 seconds.

What this is supposed to teach us? Good listening skills make it so that we can debate well, and build upon people’s ideas.

What is the goal of this?  We want the story to be cohesive, that is to say, we want the story to build upon itself and work well together. So try to avoid shifting the story entirely and negating other peoples ideas.

Assigning Countries:

Here we will take turns coming up one at a time to assign new countries. There will also be the option to "create" your own nation! If you choose the creation option, you will have to be more rigorous with the next assignment.  

Getting to Know Your Nation:

 In this assignment, we will be researching our chosen nation. You need to be able to answer all of the following questions: 

1) In what year was your nation formed? Which figures were key to your nation's formation? How did the nations formation come about (a revolution, a deceleration, etc.)? 

2) What kind of politics does your nation take part in? Are they a democracy? A dictatorship? What are their main humanitarian issues? What are their main foreign relations stances?

3) What kind of military does your country have? Have they been in any large skirmishes?

4) What is the economic situation of your country? What are their main resources? What do they import and 

export?

5) What does your country look like? What is the geography? What is the climate?

6) What are the people like? What kinds of cultures are there? What types of religions do they practice? What languages are spoken? 

7)  What is the culture like? What does their visual art look like? What kind of music do they make? What kinds of books and poems do they write? What kind of food do they eat? What sports do they play? What movies do they like? 

8) What are the main social aspects of your nation like? How is their healthcare system and what are its concerns? What kind of educational programs do they have and what is the average level of education? 

You need to be able to answer each of these compound questions on a few sheets of paper. After you have answered all these questions, you should know what your nation is like! 

Thursday!

Thursdays Agenda: 

1. Writing a Resolution

2. The "Newspaper Article Hunt"

3. "Getting to Know You!"

4. Moderated Formal Debate 

Writing a Resolution:

The UN primarily writes resolutions which, in turn, act as the combined voice of the nations involved in the UN.

Resolutions have two clauses, a perambulatory clause, and an operative clause.

A perambulatory clause is one that starts with a verb that "recognizes something." An operative clause is one that starts with a verb that "recommends an action."

Example of a Preabulatory clause: Desiring schwarma after the battle.

Example of a Operative Clause:  Encourages that all in attendance, including Thor, The Hulk, Black Widow, Hawk Eye, Captain America, go to the schwarma place pointed out before closing the portal. 

Why does it sound funny? Because the subject is missing! In a resolution, the subject is the delegates of the UN, in this example, it is Tony Stark, aka Iron Man!

After I pass out a list of verbs for these clauses, we are going to try to write some for ourselves on the following topics! 

• Aliens have landed and want to negotiate peace. You want them to land in your country. 
• Russia has sent Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles to be placed in Cuba. You are writing a resolution saying that they cant. 
• The UN has decided to place a worldwide ban on (insert whatever here, so long as it is friendly).

After we write our resolutions, we will each put one up on the board! 

The "Newspaper Article Hunt" 

In this activity you will find a recent newspaper article dealing with one of the following news stories:

• Detroit's citizens reaching out to the United Nations due to water shutoffs
• North Korea's current threats over the new James Franco and Seth Rogen movie
• The affect of the World Cup on the economy of Brazil

You will then have 30 minutes to read the news article, and write down the following questions using a pencil and paper.

1) What is the article's main point? How does the writer feel about the crises or the country? Can you tell?

2)What are the repercussions of the article on the world? On your chosen country? 

3)What would you propose be done to solve the problem at hand? How would you ease tensions? Or if everything is going well, how could you aid another country in their struggles?

You should be looking at reputable news sources: CNN, Reuters, Huffington Post, AL-Jazeera, or any reputable news site. Please refrain from using blogs or forums. Finally, it must be an article and not a video report. 

After you have answered these questions, you will also write a short (5 or 6 sentences) summary of the article. We will then share our summaries with the class and discuss the issues. 

Lastly, we will discuss what we found, with a talking time of up to 2 minutes. We will share our answer to question three, and then together try to write a resolution. 

"Getting to Know You"

In this activity, we will be practicing both our memory, and our people skills. 

Each person will number a piece of paper from 1 to 19, leaving a space between lines. Next, each person will take one of the numbered index cards, and write lightly in pencil the following on the back:

• A fake name, that is decently easy to remember. 
• For example: John Buttercorn
• Two interesting things about your fake name: 
• For example:
•  I hate the gross fake butter on my popcorn
• My favorite movie is The Avengers

Afterwords, we will all go outside in the small courtyard, and have about five minutes to meet each person we can, and learn their name and the interesting things about them. 

Then, we will go back inside and put their names down on our list, as well as the interesting facts we can remember. You will receive five points for each name you correctly match to the number, and 10 points for each fact you correctly remember about the person. The camper with the most points wins!

Moderated Formal Debate:

This activity will build on our "For and Against" activity. 

We will start by having a 10-15 minute research period about the topic of my choosing, although you can all suggest a topic if you would like. 

Then, I will take role call the way the UN takes role call by asking if you are in attendance. 

You can say "present," or "present and voting." If you state that you are voting, you must vote on every issue, if you say that you are merely present, you may withhold your vote. 

Next we will have a 20 minute debate, with a minute and thirty second speaker time. Each speaker will get to speak on the subject twice and no more. After the 20 minutes, we will vote on the subject at hand, and try to write a simple resolution together about the outcome of the vote. 

Wednesday! 

Tuesday's Agenda:

1. The "2 to 3 Minute Speech"
2. The "Newspaper Article Hunt"
3. Finishing up Position Papers, and turning in the position paper handout.

The 2 to 3 Minute Speech:

In this exercise, you are going to write a two minute speech, which you will then present to the class. You have to write down and work on your speech. You will have 20-30 minutes to work on your speech. After everyone is done with their speech, you will then present your speech to the rest of the camp! 

The topics for this speech are:

1) If you could change one thing about the world today, what would you change and why?

2) You have found a treasure chest full of gold, with a note attached saying that the gold belongs to you. What do you do with it? 

3) You have one day that you can spend in any way you want (within reason) how would you spend it?

4) What superpower would you have? Why would you have it? How would you use it to change the world?

5) If you could travel back in time to any era, what time would you visit? Why? What is it that is attractive to you about that time period? 

6) You've met your hero (from any time period) and you only have two minutes to say something to them, what do you say?

7) You've woken up one day and have become the President of the United States, what is your first order of business and why?

8) What is your favorite (book, movie, music group) and why? You should try to convince us to like it as well. 

After you have given your speech, you will either turn the draft of it in to me by hand (if you used paper or pencils) or you will e-mail it to NSMUNDais@gmail.com

The "Newspaper Article Hunt":

In this activity you will find a recent newspaper article dealing with one of the crises we are currently dealing with, or the state of affairs in your nation. You will have about 10 to 15 minutes to find an article, and then another 30 to 40 minutes to read the article and answer the below questions: 

1) What is the article's main point? How does the writer feel about the crises or the country? Can you tell?

2)What are the repercussions of the article on the world? On your chosen country? 

3)What would you propose be done to solve the problem at hand? How would you ease tensions? Or if everything is going well, how could you aid another country in their struggles?

You should be looking at reputable news sources: CNN, Reuters, Huffington Post, AL-Jazeera, or any reputable news site. Please refrain from using blogs or forums. Finally, it must be an article and not a video report. 

After you have answered these questions, you will also write a short (5 or 6 sentences) summary of the article. We will then share our summaries with the class and discuss the issues. You will mail both your summary and your answer of the three questions to NSMUNDais@gmail.com

Position Papers:

You should be, by the end of the day, done answering the questions on the position paper hand out. If you have finished answering the questions, please share the drive document with NSMUNDais@gmail.com.

After finishing the handout, you should start writing a formal position paper. I will hand out a sample of a formal position paper in class. 

Tuesday! 

Since we are now in our groups and are assigned our positions as delegates within our nation, it is now time to take a little more in depth a look at world issues, and start creating position papers which will reflect our country's stance on the issue. 

Tuesday's Agenda: 

1. Making the Placards for Our Nation
2. "For and Against"
3. Break
4. World Problems
5. Position Papers

For And Against: 

In this exercise, we will take turns discussing topics where one side will be for a certain topic, and another side will be against it. 

We will be using the same method that the UN uses when in session, where one student will make a "motion to discuss topic number X" and then two delegations will be chosen to speak either for or against it. 

The list of topics is as follows:

For and Against Topics:

1. Some people say that text messages, twittering and emails are an accepted part of the language we use in our everyday lives. Other say that they are destroying our ability to spell and write properly.

2. Some people believe that education is always a good thing, whatever the course studied. Others claim that only those who are studying medicine, IT or law have good job opportunities and that other courses are a waste of time.

3. Some people think governments should make laws such as banning smoking,making people wear seat belts in cars and taxing fast food. Others complain that, as long as they don't hurt anyone else, people should be allowed to make up their own minds about how they lead their lives..

4. Being an only child- advantages and disadvantages

5. Smoking should be banned in all public places

6. Some say it would be better if there was only one language in the world. Other disagree.

7. Some people say eating meat is wrong. Others say it's natural.

8. Some people claim that the public has the right to know about private lives of celebrities. Others disagree

9. Cloning is the solution to our health problems.

10. Living abroad

11. Money can buy happiness

12. Computer games and the Internet have a negative impact on people

13. School uniforms- to wear or not to wear them?

14. Electronic books

15. Genetically Modified food

16. Using animals in testing cosmetics

17. Capital punishment

18. Young drivers should be supervised by their parents for at least a year

19. Going to school by bicycle

20. Mobile phones- a blessing or a curse?

21. People used to think that the family played an important role in society, but some say that times have changed and now the family is less important

22. Should you start a career or enter university at 18?

23. Physical Education should only be an optional subject at school

24. Shopping centers have improved the way we shop

25. Globalization- pros & cons

26. Some say that the best cure after a break-up is finding another partner. Others say we should get over the broken relationship first.

World Problems:

We will decide together what kind of world problems are interesting to us as a camp. What kind of issues do you want to know more about? What would you find fun and interesting to talk about? We will need at least 2 issues to discuss!

Here are some samples of recent events, and ones that may be of interest to us as the United Nations:

• The current crisis between Russia and Ukraine
• The Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Disaster 
• Africa's power shortage issues
• World hunger

Or, since it is summer, it might be fun to use our imaginations to decide on a crisis that could affect the world, but hasn't! 

• Aliens seek to land somewhere on earth and begin diplomatic relations.
• Superheroes have started appearing all over the planet, and their powers are extraordinary! 
• A scientist from a small village in Mongolia has created time travel, and seeks the UN's guidance on how to use it!
• The first artificial intelligence has been created! Does it deserve human rights? 
• Some insane genius has created weaponized hedgehogs and porcupines that deploy ICBMs! Since the former animal is prevalent on three continents, and the latter on four continents, how will the UN deal with this new menace!? 

Nueva Summer Model UN 2014!

Monday's Agenda:

1. Introduction to the Model UN / Great Debate
• Camp Rules
• Public Speaking, Debate, Research, and Writing
• Plan for the Week
2. Interview Introduction Activity
3. Break
4. Assigning UN Nations Activity
5. World Problems Brainstorming
6. (Possibly) Position Papers

Interview Introduction:

We will begin working our public speaking skills by interviewing each other and presenting what we learned! Follow these steps:

1. Pair up with someone you don't know, or would like to get to know better.
2. Interview them for 5-10 minutes.
3. Switch and have them interview you for 5-10 minutes.
4. Take 5-10 minutes to organize what you learned about them into a presentation that has an Introduction, a Body of Information, and a Conclusion.
5. We will then take turns presenting the information we learned about our interviewee and introduce them to the class! :

Should you run out of questions and need sample questions, here are a few:

• Where were you born?
• How long have you lived in the Bay Area?
• What is your favorite sport and why?
• Do you have a favorite book? Why do you like it?
• Do you have any hobbies?
• Where would you like to go to high school or college and why?
• What is your dream vacation?
• Who is your favorite musician or actor?
• What is the best movie you saw last year?

• What is your dream job?

Possible types of organization include:

• Chronological Organization:
• This Organization is probably the easiest because it goes from past to present, and gives the listener a sketch of the interviewee’s life.
• “Carol was born in San Francisco on February 19th 2001...When she was six she started playing saxophone...last year he family went to Hawaii”

• Present Circumstance, Past Influence:
• This organization is a bit trickier because you need to set up pairs that match. The main idea is that A is the way it is because of B.
• Carol wants to go to the University of Hawaii because she loved the vacation her family took there last year...She loves Kenny G because she started playing the saxophone herself…
• Overall Feeling of a Person, Then the Facts:
• This organization forces you to come up with your own conception of the person, and then give the supporting facts as to why you came to that conclusion.
• Carol is a really laid back and fun person. She wants to go to Hawaii to study because of the relaxing atmosphere, and the fact that there is a lot for a musician to do there. She wants to play the saxophone in a jazz band on the island to make money for her studies as well!

Assigning UN Nations:

1. Go to http://www.un.org/en/members/ and choose a member from the list. 
2. You will then come up to me, tell me your country choice, and I will write it on the whiteboard.
• Should their be two people who want the same country, the first person to tell me that country will be the one who shall be in charge of that country.
3. You will then set up a Google e-mail account with the name of your country.
• The email account should be set up like this: NSMUNcountryname@gmail.com
• If we are working in groups, you will add a position at the end of the country. e.g. SC
• Examples: NSMUNGhana@gmail.com or NSMUNGhanaSC@gmail.com
4. You will then make a placard for your country with the pens and paper provided. If you'd like, you can even attempt to draw your flag!

World Problems:

We will decide together what kind of world problems are interesting to us as a camp. What kind of issues do you want to know more about? What would you find fun and interesting to talk about?

Here are some samples of recent events, and ones that may be of interest to us as the United Nations:

• The current crisis between Russia and Ukraine
• The Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Disaster 
• Africa's power shortage issues
• World hunger

Or, since it is summer, it might be fun to use our imaginations to decide on a crisis that could affect the world, but hasn't! 

• Aliens seek to land somewhere on earth and begin diplomatic relations.
• Superheroes have started appearing all over the planet, and their powers are extraordinary! 
• A scientist from a small village in Mongolia has created time travel, and seeks the UN's guidance on how to use it!
• The first artificial intelligence has been created! Does it deserve human rights? 

If we finish all of this, we will start talking about position papers!